Even Santa partakes in the downward dog to work off some of those holiday cookies and eggnog 🙂 Are any other ladies feeling like Spanx will become your new best friend in 2010? It’s never too late to join in the 12 days of yoga challenge in December. Perhaps you too have realized that travel makes consistent exercise more difficult- and around this time of year it can feel easier to sit comatose after a big meal than get up and move. Thankfully, this past weekend as I’ve been in indianapolis celebrating an early Christmas with my in-laws, my sister-in-law Rachel

found a place for us to drop-in for a yoga class that one of her friends teaches! The day ended up being a fick ladies outing beginning with yoga, moving on to facials, out to lunch for sushi and ending with a day of shopping. It was wonderful!

everybody warrior pose!

I found the “yogi santa” card at Invoke Yoga Studio and had to buy it- it was just too perfect during this 12 days of yoga challenge. The only other time I have taken a class was through Grand Rapids Parks and Rec & it was a pilates class- I loved it even despite the environment of the Ottawa Hills High School Cafeteria. Invoke was beautiful, and offers drop-in classes perfect for checking things out to see if you want to commit to joining a session. Most places offer things like this, and actually will give you a credit towards other sessions if you’ve paid for a few drop in classes.

If you know of a yoga studio near-by, check their website or give them a call to see if they offer similar deals. They may even have January specials beginning in a few weeks- what a great time to try something new to stay healthy this year!

I so enjoyed being in a class with other people, mostly women. Rachel and I were commenting that when we’re exercising by ourselves, it’s too easy to just put in the time and not really push ourselves. Well, I was sweatin’ in this yoga class- and even though it was more challenging, I didn’t even realize that it was an hour long class because it felt so good! There is something great about having the accountability of having a class you’re part of to stay consistent with exercise.

Indy's #1 pick for yoga studios!

I also really liked that the instructor could adjust my positioning to help me gain the full potential from various poses- something that you don’t have the benefit of from doing a dvd at home. So, that puts me up to a total of 6 days (30 minute sets) of yoga- 1/2 way there in the 12 days of yoga challenge! Did I mention it’s not too late for you to start the challenge for this month?

I’m hoping that our family will be able to join the YMCA in GR this new year- I’d love to take a mom & toddler swim class with Reuben and to be able to take some yoga classes a few times a week. I intentionally decided not to run outdoors this winter. I did last year and was super motivated to get outside at least three times a week. I’d bundle up, put on my wool socks and brave the cold winds convincing myself just to keep going because I’d soon warm up. But this year as soon as it became colder, I looked outside at the cold winds blowing and thought- nope, not gunna do it, wouldn’t be prudent 🙂

I think sometimes that’s how we can get derailed on exercise- feeling guilty that we’re not doing a certain kind of exercise so we give up all together. But, it really doesn’t matter if you’re running, walking, skipping or doing cartwheels to stay active. The point is to keep moving to make exercise a part of your life. It felt good to give myself permission to stop running and decide to walk and do yoga instead. And strangely enough, I’ve looked outside on some sunny cold days and thought- what a gorgeous day for a run!

So, what kinds of ways are you hoping to make exercise a priority in the new year? What has been working for you? How are you doing on the 12 days of yoga?